Gabe shrugged. “Kind of.” He looked down at the street and lowered his voice. “If I told you a secret, would you keep it?”
“Absolutely.” Shelby reached out her little finger to him. “Pinky swear.” After their pact was sealed, she waited to hear what Gabe had to say.
“With you being a dog walker and stuff, I thought maybe you could…” He stopped, looking around to make sure no one else was listening. “Help me with something.”
“And what might that be?” she asked, lowering her voice as well. Not that anyone could hear them. Before he could speak, a black limo turned down their street and into the DeLucas’ driveway. Mr. DeLuca came out, wheeling a black suitcase, which the driver promptly took from him and loaded into the trunk. He was on his cell phone and didn’t so much as wave goodbye to Gabe as he left.
Gabe dropped his head and sniffed.
“You can tell me,” Shelby said. “I know what it’s like to have no one to talk to. When I’m not here with my grandmother, I’m alone most of the time. My mom is always out somewhere.”
He looked up at her and nodded. “I need some dog advice.”
“I thought…” she started to say.
“For someone else’s dog,” he clarified. “So, what if I was kind of helping someone take care of their dog?” He looked to her for reassurance and she gave it. “And this person is sort of sick?”
Shelby was concerned who that might be. “So, what is your question?”
“I want to make sure I’m doing it right,” Gabe blurted out. “I take the dog out and play with it twice a day in her yard. She tells me what to feed it. Mutt is so happy when he sees me, but when I leave, he looks miserable.”
“It sounds like you’re doing it completely right,” Shelby said.
Gabe shuffled his feet. “The thing is, the lady seems like she might be sick or something. Mrs. Williams lives in an old cabin by the lake in the trees behind our houses.” He pointed to show Shelby the location. “She’s all alone and doesn’t have much. I’ve used some of my allowance to help buy the dog food, but I think Mutt needs more. Like a bath or shot or something? He’s a good dog. You should see him.”
Shelby thought for a moment. Spread around the lake were some senior citizens who had lived in the area a long time. If the woman was alone and possibly ill, this was probably more than Gabe should be handling. “You’re a real sweetheart to help Mrs. Williams out. How would you feel about taking me to meet her and Mutt?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “She made me promise not to tell anyone. I found Mutt by our yard one day, really skinny and hungry. So I fed him. I sleep in the screened-in porch a lot and Mutt kept coming back and whining for more. Then one night I followed him home and found his owner. She was surprised to see me and almost out of food. She gets some delivered once a week from a meals program, she told me, and shares it with the dog. I started bringing her some too. We have so much at our house.”
This was definitely way more than a young boy should be handling. Even one with a big heart and the fortitude to try to right a wrong. “I don’t think she’ll mind if you take me with you. I think together we can really help them both.”
“Okay,” he said. “But you can’t tell.”
Gabe led her on a narrow deer path partially obscured from the shore by overgrown trees and blackberry bushes. In a clearing was an old summer cabin, its once red paint faded and its roof covered in pine needles. As they approached, a smallish white and tan dog with wiry hair rushed out from a doggy door barking. When he saw Gabe, he jumped into his arms and licked his face.
“Hi, boy, I told you I’d be back soon. I brought a friend this time.”
Shelby petted the scruffy dog. His matted fur needed brushing, including the white-tipped ears, one sticking straight up, the other bent down. His deep brown eyes watched Shelby’s every move. “Hello, Mutt,” she said, reaching out her hand for him to sniff it.
She was rewarded with a quick lick before he clung back to Gabe.